Bucs Have Contacted Mike Sherman
January 3rd, 2012
“The Professor,” John Clayton of BSPN is reporting the Bucs have reached out to former Texas A&M and Green Bay Packers coach Mike Sherman in the team’s search for a new head coach.
Sherman was 57-39 in six seasons with the Packers and won three NFL North titles. He was 25-25 in four seasons at Texas A&M and took two teams to bowl games.
It’s possible the Bucs would lean toward a former NFL head coach with offensive experience to help quarterback Josh Freeman, who is considered one of the top young quarterbacks in the league.
Just a hunch, but if Sherman is the Bucs coach, we can expect not to see Warren Sapp around these parts until Sherman’s coaching days with the Bucs ends.
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:50 pm
I think he is being looked at a coordinator.
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:51 pm
I believe the Bucs are thinking offensive minded. The correct move.
If our defense sucks for a little bit, but the offense is exciting and could put points on the board, it will fill the seats.
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:51 pm
I doubt that they will hire an OC before a HC this time around
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:52 pm
Maybe they can get together and bury the hatchet at one of Sapp’s $10K bottle of wine dinners. (Yeah, I know that story)
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:53 pm
@David, doubtful. To put in coordinators before you have a HC is the kiss of death. This is the Bucs, not the Cowboys – and thankfully, the Glazers are not Jerry Jones.
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:57 pm
It’s not for a coordinator spot.
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:58 pm
Cant hire a guy with man breasts.
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:59 pm
I would not be heart broken if he became HC…but I would rather it not be him.
January 3rd, 2012 at 3:59 pm
Mike Sherman = Snooze Alert
He rode Holmgren’s talent to a 2-4 postseason record and was mediocre at Texas A&M.
I’d say that most fans and even the Organization want a splash signing but the fact of the matter is that Cowher’s not coming and we seem to be down on Jeff Fisher’s list of teams (even though we arguably have the most talented team of all the teams vying for his services). So with all that out of the way…
I think Mularkey is the guy.
Mularkey’s Resume:
* Born in & went to school in Florida
* 8 Year NFL playing career
* Started off his coaching career w/the Bucs organization
* 6th, 16th, 16th, 10th in yards as OC of the Falcons, “developed” Matt Ryan and (most of the time) sticks to a power run game.
* 25th & 28th in yards as the HC of the Bills but scored the most points the team has ever scored in a 6 week period w/ JP Losman as his QB. Also, in the limited research I’ve done, it looks like he was essentially forced to resign by the Marv Levy regime in Buffalo.
* 3rd, 5th, 22nd in yards as OC of the Steelers with Tommy Maddox as his QB. Used gadget plays w/ Hines Ward and Randal-El to create an explosive and exciting offense.
This is guy who 1) has shown the ability to get the most out of his quarterback and be creative on offense; 2) had a Belicheat-ian experience in Buffalo and most assuredly has learned from his mistakes; 3) requires discipline from his players to run his complex scheme; 4) should still be able relate to NFL players because he’s a former player himself
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:01 pm
Norv Turner is not getting fired. Wonder if Gruden announcing he wants to stay with ESPN had anything to do with it?
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Mike Sherman is just awful. If this guy is the next coach I’m switching allegiance and starting JoeBrownsFan.com
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:02 pm
God if the bucs hire this scrub as a hc I might have to consider switching teams this guy would’ve been nothing without favre and his teams weren’t all that great. He just got fired from Texas am for being a douche and posting a 25-25 record. Keep it moving
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:03 pm
Oh boy…another HC/OC with a complex scheme. Correct me if I am wrong but did that NOT work well for us within the last 3 years?
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:05 pm
Just remember, Sherman had Brett Favre, arguably the best QB ever. Kinda easy to win with him as your QB.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:05 pm
Russ Grimm…you wanna be like the Steelers, get a Steelers guy
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:07 pm
He has the same agent as Dom….imagine that.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:09 pm
Mike Martz resigned from the Bears. I could see the Glazers going after him because he’d bring an OC (Shane Day).
I’m not saying if it’s a bad idea or not, but I could see the Bucs doing it. It actually wouldn’t be all that bad of an idea. He had the Rams at 14-2 at one point.
Will never forget a certain NFC Championship game.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:10 pm
@ Scotty
The problem with that line of thinking is Mularkey’s system has been proven to work in the past. Olie…not so much.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Isnt there some drama going on with Mularkey and the Falcons/fans right now (ala Greg Olsen)?
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:12 pm
Isn’t Sherman considered a disciplinarian along the lines of Tom Coughlin? And if so, wouldn’t that be a good reason to at least consider him? Personally, I have an open mind here and think that Sapp “incident” of years ago (and I AM on Warren’s side on that hit) is coloring Mike Sherman in too negative a light here.
We need to consider all that is out there IMO, including Mike Sherman.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:13 pm
@ Pete/A Real Bucs Fan
JUST SAY NO TO MARTZ!!!!
Everywhere he’s been the fans have brought out the pitchforks and run him out of town. I lived in Detroit for 3 years and he was HATED man. After checking ESPN after he resigned today and their fans seem to be happy. Outside of this year I don’t think he’s ever really had a balanced offense.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:13 pm
Sherman: no, there’s no Favre here. Couldn’t win with him, surely won’t win with something less.
Mularkey – there’s no research required. I live near Buffalo and I gotta tell you, this guy was a train-wreck as a HC. There are some guys that are not built for the job & he is one.
Russ Grimm: that’s interesting….I could grow to love that idea.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:14 pm
Hey Mularkey put up 42 on the bucs in the first half.
Oh, wait a minute, thats no accomplishment.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:21 pm
Gruden isn’t very liked either.
Martz has a 55-5 winning record when he has the lead in the 4th quarter. That’s the best in NFL history.
He’s 53-32 overall.
You might be right. But if I had to choose between Martz and Sherman, I would take Martz.
Personally I still want Tom Clements.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:21 pm
@ Scotty
Absolutely there is. Some fans want him gone. They’ve been saying that Matt Ryan runs the offense better than him and that he’s too conservative…I’m willing to bet Mike “The River Boat Gambler” Smith has something to do with that.
Despite what the fans say, look at the numbers above. More often than not, he’s been in the top half of the league in yardage and points.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:24 pm
What are your thoughts on Chip Kelly from Oregon?
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:26 pm
You are who your record says you are….
A loser is a loser, there’s no getting around that.
We don’t want to be a better team, we want to be the BEST team.
Personally I want a guy who’s won it before: as a player or a coach. A guy that knows the way there and knows what it takes to win everything.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:27 pm
Chip Kelly’s Bio.
http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=803271
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:28 pm
Russ Grimm…I REALLY like that idea. 4x SB champ
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:31 pm
@ Pete
I’m just telling you what I’ve seen first hand. You think Olie’s offense going to shotgun on 3rd and short is bad? Martz is worse. He refused to run the ball in all of his stops except for this year…after Cutler went down.
Martz cannot run a balanced offense and he seems to have lost his offensive magic over his last few stops:
In Chicago he was the OC when they were 24th & 30th in yards
In SF he was the OC when they were 23rd in yards
In Detroit he was the OC when they were 22nd & 19th in yards
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:31 pm
Instead of throwing a hundred fantasy names out there, why not focus on the guys who are actually likely to get interviewed by the Bucs? You know…reality.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:34 pm
They said in the presser yesterday that they are throwing a HUGE net over potential candidates. Why not someone from the college ranks? LeGarrett’s old coach and LaMichael James current coach.
Looks like he has a defensive background as well.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:37 pm
@SensibleBuc
You convinced me.
I’m changing my preferences:
1) Russ Grimm
2) Tom Clements
After doing some research, I discovered that Grimm had been given hte Steelers HC job, but then Goodell called the Steelers and insisted Tomlin get it because that is where the Rooney rule was made.
The continuity of the Steelers could well be due to Grimm. I like the idea. A. Lot.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:37 pm
Russ Grimm would be a great hire.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:38 pm
I don’t like the idea of a college coach. For every success story there, we’ve seen more failures.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:40 pm
More on Chip Kelly. Quite a wealth of knowledge I would say.
1990 Columbia (DB/ST)
1991 Columbia (OLB/SS)
1992 New Hampshire (RB)
1993 Johns Hopkins (DC)
1994–1996 New Hampshire (RB)
1997–1998 New Hampshire (OL)
1999–2006 New Hampshire (OC)
2007–2008 Oregon (OC)
2009–present Oregon
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:43 pm
@ Scotty
After skimming over his history I’d say no for two reasons.
1) He’s got less NFL time than Rah! lol. Harbaugh is the exception rather than the rule in terms of college coaches making the jump to the NFL. Harbaugh comes from a coaching family, he played in the NFL, and he coached in the NFL before becoming a HC. I think the transition from college HC to NFL HC is next to impossible if all you’ve done is coach college ball your whole career.
2) He runs a gadget offense built on having a faster tempo, excellent execution (their playbook is fairly small but they’re excellent at running the same play out of different looks), and superior speed. If he was running an offense like Stanford and still kill people I’d give him more kudos.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:43 pm
From a coaching standpoint, I am not seeing what exactly Russ Grimm bring to the table? Unless of course he hires some friggin outstanding OC and DC.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:43 pm
Ya know after seeing that these two jokers are the first to interview for the HC position it shows me one thing: The Bucs next HC will be someone that is just happy to be a HC….a guy that (like Raheem) will nod his head and say “that’s fine” when he’s told we won’t be spending money on free agents, that his team will be the youngest in the league, and that his team will be “built through the draft.” Doesn’t matter to these guys….they just want to be a HC somewhere.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:48 pm
@ Pete
I actually like Russ Grimm!!! BUT
I’ve always wondered why guys like he and, say, Mike Zimmer aren’t more in demand. They have impeccable resumes but I wonder if they’re like Ted Cottrel or Norm Chow or Ron Rivera…guys who don’t interview well or have the CEO quality franchises need to see out of their Head Coach.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:48 pm
Profootballtalk.com reports that Sherman will be interviewed this week by the Bucs.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:49 pm
lets hear your take on this SAPP lol
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:51 pm
MIKE ZIMMER, RUSS GRIMM, CHIP KELLY, OR CHUD FROM CAROLINA
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:53 pm
Personally, I’m hoping the Bucs are just filling time until after the Superbowl, and they go for one of those guys.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:54 pm
Kirk Ferentz? (Just trolling opinions..)
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:55 pm
Sherman has the same agent as Mark Dominik.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:56 pm
Sapp will break bread with any new HC that is putting his team backon the winning track.
January 3rd, 2012 at 4:57 pm
No Thanks to Sherman. Keep looking.
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:00 pm
Mike Sherman make me want to renew! **note sarcasm
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:07 pm
I haven’t seen an old school offense work in the league in a while, if he’s running the offense this team will be drafting #1 next year.
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:07 pm
I’m with you Sensiblebuc:
Not sure what the down fall is to your #2 below. I always thought that the Bucs offense needed to scale it back and be perfectionists at a few plays with different looks.
2) He runs a gadget offense built on having a faster tempo, excellent execution (their playbook is fairly small but they’re excellent at running the same play out of different looks), and superior speed. If he was running an offense like Stanford and still kill people I’d give him more kudos.
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:08 pm
@Hillbilly…Belachick sucked in Cleveland, and Mularkey lead the dreadful Bills to their first winning seasons in years. Many first time head coaches do not look so good, then they go become OCs or DCs and come back as a great head coach. Learnng and growing. If nothing else we can say, “This offense is a bunch of Mularkey”. I like what he has done in ATL, so I would be happy with Mularkey. I like the DC from TN as well. You do not need a offense guy as HC if you have a great OC, NE proves that point.
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:23 pm
Russ Grimm baby.
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:24 pm
I can’t put the blame on Mularkey for a lack of few big plays in Atlanta. Matt Ryan has a terrible deep ball. Out of the 59 passes he has attempted over 20 yards he has completed only 14, with 3 of them being WR drops, and 2 ints.
Compare that to Freeman who has also completed 14 passes over 20 yards but has only attempted 32, with 4 of them being WR drops, and 1 int.
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:26 pm
That last post was about the ball itself traveling over 20 yards in the air. Not short passes that went for big gains.
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:28 pm
Hire Sherman, he looks like Mr. Lebowski…
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:30 pm
I should also mention that freeman has the lowest percentage of deep pass attempts per dropback of any other QB in the league.
Out of the 68 QBs that have attempted a deep pass this season, Freeman is ranked 68th in percentage of deep passes per dropback. Ryan is ranked 51st.
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:34 pm
Russ Grimm would be fine with me. I know he raised a kid who is one of the only Bucs who is NOT afraid to stick his helmet on a RB or receiver. Cody can ball. Russ would for sure have the team disciplined on both sides of the ball. HOF pedigree instantly gets respect.
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:51 pm
“I should also mention that freeman has the lowest percentage of deep pass attempts per dropback of any other QB in the league.
Out of the 68 QBs that have attempted a deep pass this season, Freeman is ranked 68th in percentage of deep passes per dropback. Ryan is ranked 51st.”
Other teams have WR’s that will fight for the ball AND can catch.
January 3rd, 2012 at 5:57 pm
@ Scotty
“Not sure what the down fall is to your #2 below. I always thought that the Bucs offense needed to scale it back and be perfectionists at a few plays with different looks.”
That stuff can work in college…but not in the pros. My thinking is two-fold:
1) Guys with small playbooks and/or gadget offenses fail in the NFL. You’ve got to have multiple pitches (the ability to adjust) to have sustained success. Jags didn’t even make it through training camp! (lol) Another case in point: I had the pleasure of playing under Coach Spurrier his 1st two years at South Carolina. Spurrier is a guy who just had one pitch when he coached the Redskins and early on with us at USC. Downfield timing routes & tunnel screens in the passing game. Sprint draw out of the I-formation or HB dive out of shotgun in the run game. His problem was after people figured him out and they started blitzing him, he couldn’t protect the QB and the entire offense suffered. His offense ended up being just below average (20th & 22nd in yards), and he couldn’t/didn’t want to adjust.
2) We’ve seen with our team how far simplicity gets you. Last year, our offense was actually pretty entertaining to watch when we really got rolling. We’d run our little power behind Davin and Trueblood with Zuttah or Larsen pulling kicking out and LB. We’d playaction off that and throw it up one-on-one to our outside receivers or throw a drag/post/curl to K2 or the slot guy. If we couldn’t get the run going we’d throw quick to Mike on a slant or throw to K2 in the middle of the field. If that didn’t work, we got beat. We pretty much did the same thing every game from different looks pre-snap, with different motions, different formations. This year we tried to do the same thing but people caught up to us. They shut down our 4 seamer and our cutter…and we didn’t have a changeup to throw at them.
That’s one of my only issues with a college coach making the jump to the pros. Sure he maybe able to run his stuff for a little while but can he adjust? Is he going to have NFL quality assistants? Can he coach grown men making more than him?
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:02 pm
cody is his son?
That might cause an issue. I*f the need to cut cody comes, Russ might hesitate. Then again…Cody might play best for his father.
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:14 pm
I know I’ve mentioned Sherman a couple of times on here, but I’ll be honest. I’m not a big fan of this guy.
I’m not a big fan of Fisher either, but there’s just something I like about him. He’s a guy that I would probably trust.
Brian Billick would be the best one that already has coaching experience. I trust his football knowledge and he’ll discipline this team. I’ve watched a couple of interviews with Billick, and I always like what I hear. The interviews I’ve watched with Sherman, he looks like he’s depressed and has no personality.
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:32 pm
“PUT A JERSEY ON”
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:39 pm
If the Bucs hire Mike Sherman, I will adamantly refuse to invest one more penny for tickets. This year was bad enough, hiring that stiff will do me in.
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:42 pm
I know all about Mike Sherman. If you thought Rah let the insane run the asylum in Tampa Bay, you should have seen what Sherman did in Green Bay as HC and GM. He gave Lord Favre the keys to the kingdom. Under Sherman, Favre was allowed to have his own locker and shower room. Favre was also given his own office. Plus Lord Favre was allowed to park right next to Sherman’s car near the locker room under Lambeau Field, instead of the player’s parking lot. Luckily for the Packers, Ted Thompson put a stop to that nonsense and moved on to Aaron Rodgers, after he jettisoned Sherman as head coach and brought on Mike McCarthy.
January 3rd, 2012 at 6:53 pm
Fisher is already in Miami, bring him in.
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:03 pm
Norv Turner is returning to San Diego. Looks like he’s off our list for OC.
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:12 pm
Rick Stroud says that Jeff Fisher is at the top of the Bucs’ wish list. Mike Freeman reports that the Colts and Bucs are at the top of Fisher’s list because of Manning/Luck and Freeman. Could end up being a match.
I don’t think Fisher will be impressed with Miami because of how Ross & Ireland treated Tony Sparano. They’re flaky and he already was held hostage to another flake in Bud Adams. The Bucs probably have as good a shot at landing Fisher as anyone.
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:17 pm
Thanks for the insight SensibleBuc.
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:31 pm
Grimm would be interesting, so would Malarky, I still like Billick.
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:47 pm
According to Holder the Bucs havent even contacted Fisher.
Please tell me they arent seriously considering Mike Sherman.
I’m getting a whiff of half ass in the air…………
January 3rd, 2012 at 7:55 pm
Russ Grimm its my pick, i really think we need him, dominik, if u read this, thats the guy who can keep ur job secure for further years….
January 3rd, 2012 at 8:46 pm
There were 11 coaches hired when Morris became HC. In just 3 years, 8 have been fired and only 3 remain. There are 5 open HC jobs to date. Two more are off death row (Turner, Reid) and the names you guys are throwing out there are not getting any looks so far. There might be a reason. The name that the majority doesn’t like, Fisher is getting the most looks. There might be a reason. I’m neutral because I don’t think it matters all that much. The administration and the direction from the top will be the determining factor, that is why so many GMs around the league are being let go. If the stat that I mentioned in the first sentence is a likely trend, we will be picking a new coach in 3 years anyway!
January 3rd, 2012 at 8:57 pm
@Macabee
No many are being mentioned because the hunt is only beginning.
I would take Fisher over Sherman, but I really don’t want either. With Sherman it would take time for me to see a positive in it.
By tomorrow, Mike Martz will be the talk of the town.
If we get a Russ Grimm or Tom Clements, the Glazers will have to spend money. They aren’t huge names, but once people learn about them, I think ticket would sell.
January 3rd, 2012 at 8:58 pm
Crap…just realized IE put my username back…
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:25 pm
F**k Sherman. Give me Fisher. He will assemble a great coaching staff on his own. The entire staff would get immediate respect from the Buc players and from around the league.
January 3rd, 2012 at 9:45 pm
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1008848-tampa-bay-buccaneers-team-must-strongly-consider-titans-coordinator-jerry-gray
Maybe we shouldn’t dismiss Jerry Gray as a possibility just yet.
January 3rd, 2012 at 10:00 pm
Isn’t Russ Grimm Cody’s father? If so at the very least he can teach this team how to tackle… i mean his son is a true tackle machine( or at least was his first year). but at the same time.. i wonder what position Cody would end up playing LB or Safety?
January 4th, 2012 at 12:48 am
I’d take Gray all day every day over Sherman. Hands down.
January 4th, 2012 at 7:21 am
Grey wouldn’t sell tickets right away. Neither would Sherman.
I would like to at least get a coach who would instantly sell out games.
I’ve made my preferences known.
January 4th, 2012 at 8:57 am
hope Sherman is interviewing for janitor not HC
January 8th, 2012 at 4:37 pm
No one has mentioned marty schotenheimer. He is great in the regular season. He does have trouble in the playoffs but lets cross that bridge when we get there. He is to good of a coach not to ever have success in the playoffs it the law of averages. Eventually he’ll break through. If not him then wade Phillips is my second canadite. He always has a top defense and I think will be a much better HC with out jerry jones breathing down his neck.